ZYZZYVA Interview Series: Lori Ostlund

Lori Ostlund (whose story “Clear as Cake” was published in ZYZZYVA No. 97) is the author of two books—the story collection “The Bigness of the World” (winner of the Flannery O’Connor Award, the Edmund White Award, and a California Book Award), and most recently, “After the Parade,” her first novel. Shortlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize, “After the Parade” tells the mostly funny but also unhappy story of Aaron, a man who feels compelled to leave his older partner and stable life in New Mexico for a new start in San Francisco. As he teaches English to foreign students in a dingy language school, Aaron tries to make sense of his complicated past, including the actions of his mother, who abandoned him while he was a teen.

We talked to Ostlund about the novel and its ideas in front of an audience at the Booksmith last month. To hear her read from her novel, click on “Continue Reading” below.